Wine Gummy Bears

Note: The amount of maple syrup you use will depend on (1) how dry your wine is and (2) how sweet you want your gummies! You’ll have to taste it as you go and add more as needed.

Also, you can double or triple this–it works just the same!

In a saucepan, warm the wine on low heat. I put a thermometer in it and made sure it didn’t go much above 90 degrees. Wine boils at 159 degrees F, and so I definitely wanted to keep it well below that so the alcohol wouldn’t burn off. You don’t need a thermometer though, just keep it on the lowest heat and don’t take your time with the process. Add the gelatin one Tbsp at a time, and stir very well before adding more. I stirred the gelatin/wine with a whisk and the white wine version got very frothy. This is ok! It still works, and the froth gels too–but if you want your gummies not to have a little froth on the bottom, you can scoop it off. After the gelatin has completely dissolved, add the other ingredients. Taste the mixture after adding each one—you’ll have to use your taste buds as a gauge for how much sweetener to add! I added 2 Tbsp maple syrup to each of my batches of gummies today (a pinot noir and a dry riesling). Also keep in mind that the more sweetener you add, the less you’ll taste the flavor of the wine! In my mind, these should be a little less sweet than a regular gummy bear—they are for grown-ups after all! …Sweeter gummies get eaten faster for me, and portion control is necessary for these–to avoid getting drunk 🙂

Once your mixture is ready, either use a spoon to fill a mold or dump the whole batch into a pan (for square cut gummies). I’ve done it both ways—and although the hearts are pretty, I’ll make the square ones if they’re just for me (easier).

Put them in the fridge to set. You don’t have to do this, but it speeds up the process. They’ll be the texture of Jello jigglers pretty quickly–go ahead and eat them this way if you want to. But I recommend waiting! They get better! In fact, I recommend that you let them chill for at least 2-3 hours. They really do become the texture of gummy bears. I keep them in the fridge, but you don’t have to if you want to pack them up and take them to a party. They won’t un-gel.